Around the NFL: Who's behind the numbers

Saturday

You never know what you will find when you tour the backwoods of the National Football League stats book.

You never know what you will find when you tour the backwoods of the National Football League stats book.

Three weeks in, here are some interesting faces behind the numbers:

- A tweak here or there might have saved the Butch Davis regime in Cleveland, and it needn’t have been drafting LaDainian Tomlinson instead of Gerard Warren. Take a simple little punt out of the end zone Nov. 7, 2004, in Baltimore.

Had Derrick Frost boomed it, the Browns might well have won. The Browns would have been 4-4. Davis might not have shipped out three Sundays later.

Instead, Frost shanked it 7 yards, setting up a Ravens win. Frost, now with the Redskins, is off to a good start this year, ranking No. 5 in the league in both gross and net punting average.

- Former Round 2 pick Mike Nugent of the Jets has the only 50-yard field goal in the AFC.

- Jason Elam, 37, no longer has a bionic leg. He has three misses. Only Sebastian Janikowski has more, and that’s because he’s asked to try so many Grand Canyon kicks.

- Janikowski has 10 touchbacks, more than twice anyone else in the AFC. That still doesn’t mean the Raiders should have drafted him in Round 1 ahead of Shaun Alexander.

- Raiders punter Shane Lechler was worth the Round 5 pick in 2000. His 50.8 punting average makes you wonder if his leg is corked. If you knew Lechler was drafted one spot after Dave Stachleski and one spot before Windrell Hayes, you win dinner for two at the Anchorage Denny’s.

- Devin Hester is tied for third in the NFL with four fair catches, but the Bears are unlikely to cut him. He has returned seven punts an average of 20.6 yards. How strange is it that Hester is averaging just 18.0 yards on eight kick returns?

- The third round was a charm. Reviewing the NFL’s top three kick returners, Baltimore rookie Yamon Figurs, Pittsburgh’s Allen Rossum (1998) and New England’s Ellis Hobbs (2005) all were third-round picks.

- The Browns didn’t spend their No. 3 overall pick on running back Adrian Peterson partly because of injury concerns. He has a pretty healthy number (441) in yards from scrimmage, third in the NFL and sandwiched between Chad Johnson and Randy Moss. The Vikings may have snagged a No. 7 overall steal.

- Dominic Rhodes’ four-game suspension is no skin of LaMont Jordan’s back. Jordan leads the league with 25 first downs for the Raiders.

- Dennis Northcutt couldn’t catch a cold in Cleveland at times. He has given the Jaguars 11 catches for 169 yards (15.4 average) so far. He had 228 receiving yards all last season.

- Not all No. 1 wide receivers are created equal. Derrick Mason of the Ravens leads Randy Moss of the Patriots, 23-22, in catches. Moss leads Mason, 403-209, in yards.

Chicago Tribune columnist Dan Pompei sees Derek Anderson as a plausible target as the Bears No. 1 quarterback in 2008. Anderson’s stock shot up after his 51-45 masterpiece against the Bengals.

Anderson can be a restricted free agent after this season. The Browns could -- and probably would -- give Anderson a high-tender offer, thereby forcing any suitor to pay a first-round draft pick to get him.

With the Rex Grossman era apparently set to expire, Pompei said the leading candidates to start for the ‘08 Bears include all three QBs who played in last Sunday’s Browns-Raiders game: Anderson, Josh McCown and Daunte Culpepper. Others he mentioned were Donovan McNabb, Chad Pennington, Jake Plummer, Chris Simms and Billy Volek.

Moving Anderson for a healthy return makes sense, since the Browns drafted Quinn with the intent of starting him by 2008. Keeping Anderson makes just as much sense, since everybody is looking for a backup who can win.

Welcome back

Ricky Williams refuses to believe his career has gone up in smoke.

Reports indicate the 30-year-old adventurer-running back will apply for reinstatement 18 months after former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue told him to take an indefinite hike.

Williams has more baggage than O’Hare Airport. The only development more shocking than anyone taking him on would be the dude playing with skill and dignity.

Mike Ditka was on the air recently saying he’d trade an entire draft for Williams all over again.

I have some lovely beads and trinkets. Is Manhattan for sale?

He still believes

Kids say the strangest things. For example, from Browns rookie cornerback Eric Wright: “We potentially have one of the top defenses in the NFL, just with the personnel, the speed, the physical guys. We have the ability to be a great defense.”

The Browns ranked near the bottom on defense all last year and are No. 31 after three games.

Extra points

- Rams wideout Isaac Bruce guarantees a win over the Cowboys. At 0-3, what do the Rams have to lose?

- Here’s one way you know the Patriots are in a league of their own. Chris Hanson has attempted four punts through three games. San Francisco’s Andy Lee has punted 19 times.